1. Field:
The present disclosure relates generally to detecting the speed of objects and, in particular, to detecting the speed of moving vehicles. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for detecting the speed of multiple vehicles simultaneously.
2. Background:
Vehicles moving faster than the posted speed limits on highways and other roads may disrupt the flow of traffic and may result in accidents. Law enforcement officers, such as local police officers and state highway patrol officers, patrol highways in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles that exceed the speed limits. When a vehicle exceeding a speed limit on a roadway is identified, the vehicle may be stopped. In most instances, a citation is issued to the driver of the vehicle for exceeding the speed limit. These actions help increase compliance with speed limits on different roadways.
With these law enforcement efforts, only a small percentage of vehicles are identified and stopped for speeding violations, as compared to other vehicles that are not detected or not stopped. This situation occurs because of a lack of resources to provide sufficient patrols of law enforcement officers to monitor for vehicles travelling faster than the speed limits.
Further, the process of detecting, stopping, and issuing citations requires time and expense. When a law enforcement officer is monitoring for speeders, the law enforcement officer is unable to perform other duties. As a result, other law enforcement officers may be needed. Further, a cost is involved in employing law enforcement officers to perform traffic control duties. In many cases, the ratio of ticket revenue to the cost of having a law enforcement officer patrol roadways is often lower than desired.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.